In Noctem
by Miss Yvonne Hartman
Summary: "Are we having the same hallucination?" Chloe asked, "Tess' ghost is cooking us dinner?" … Tollie, with a little bit of Chloe/Oliver, and Clois.


In Noctem

"Are we having the same hallucination?" Chloe asked, "Tess' ghost is cooking us dinner?" … Tollie, with a little bit of Chloe/Oliver, and Clois.

AN: I have been loosely following the Season 11 comic, and while we all know Tess never really died, I was inspired and wrote this…

AN: Having Déjà vu? I have given my works an edit, spit and polish and reposted so enjoy and please review – Y xx

For HaveNoMercy.

* * *

They were fighting again and Oliver hated fighting. He no longer had the energy. When he was younger he loved the barbs, the stings, the not so subtle motive of hot sex following a screaming match. He would provoke Mercy to extremes because she was so damn kissable she was when she was angry. He tormented Lois, loving the singe, crackle and pop from her end. But he hates fighting with Chloe. There is no elegance anymore. They had survived a warzone, they didn't need to create one now. Yet they continued.

"You're ridiculous!" she was saying, her eyes fixed on the shining elevator numbers as they rose up through the building.

"It's not ridiculous." He said, shifting his computer bag on his shoulder, "Chloe I work! All I am asking is that, since you are home more than I am, maybe getting dinner on the table isn't unreasonable. A family, isn't unreasonable."

"You don't give a damn about my Career, Ollie!" Chloe replied angrily, turning her face up to finally look at him. "I have spent my whole life playing second fiddle to _Lois Lane, Daily Planet_, I can't put away everything for a… a house and a child. Maybe you could be home more, Green Arrow!"

"I fucking work!" he was close to shouting now. "It's logical. You're home before 6pm. I'd like Dinner somewhere between 7 and midnight. Maybe I don't want to live on cheap take-out food."

The elevator doors opened with a chirp that was out of place in the frigid air between them. Chloe preceded him out of the confined box, nose in the air. She was such a child, he thought suddenly. She was sniping under her breath as she shuffled the folders and manila envelopes she held in her hands.

"Oh quit nagging." Oliver groaned, kicking off his shoes and putting his bag on the floor. He was so engulfed in the argument and annoyance that it took his usually keen senses a moment longer to realise there was someone in his penthouse. There was a smell of cooking coming from the kitchen, there was a soft voice humming and singing in French. He knew that voice.

"What the Hell?" Chloe said, swapping glances with Oliver. They stepped into the kitchen and both gasped as the red haired, green eyed woman turned around.

"Hi!" Tess exclaimed.

Chloe and Oliver gaped.

"I hope you don't mind! I took the liberty of making dinner." She smiled, walking forwards. "Hi Oliver."

"Mercy?" Oliver finally managed to find his voice. "What… you're dead!"

"Yeah…" the smile dropped and she flicked her hair off her face. "Kind of… I've been here for a while."

"In our penthouse?" asked Chloe.

"No." Tess blinked at her. "Around. Following Lex, hanging out at Watchtower. That sort of thing."

Oliver found a chair and sat down heavily. Maybe all these late working nights had caught up with him and he was officially crazy. "How come we haven't seen you until now?"

"Oh I only managed to make myself corporeal a few days ago. I've been stuck in limbo, but I can finally interact with the world now, instead of just being a ghost." She grinned, seeming to perk up again. "Which is great, now I can research and find a way to reverse whatever's happened to me."

"Tess, you can't bring people back from the dead." Chloe said softly.

Tess just shrugged, turning back to save the pot of whatever she was cooking on the stove before it boiled over. "Yes, and we also said Lex could never return and men could never fly. And we were proved wrong on both accounts." She looked to Oliver, her eyes seeking assurance. "Well, say something."

"So you're…" he stepped closer to her, reaching out a hand, "Can I touch you?"

"Yeah." Said Tess, grabbing his hand with hers and squeezing his numb fingers. Oliver grinned wider, pulled her in for a hug and spun her in a circle.

"Mercy! I thought I'd lost you forever!" he said into her hair. She laughed in response when he set her back down. She smiled, then turned to Chloe. The petite blond eyed her cautiously before she stepped forward to be hugged too.

"I can kind of see, I don't know... You shine at the edges." She said. Tess did have an odd sharpness around her in the air. "Dinner smells nice." She added conversationally.

"Tomato soup, but made with pancetta and rye bread and mmm!" Tess gleamed.

Chloe nodded slowly, "And can you actually eat?"

"Um… no."

"Ah huh. You know, Tess, could you give us a sec? Please?" Chloe said with a small furrow on her brow. Tess shrugged again and disappeared. Chloe turned to Oliver, silent for a moment. "Are we having the same hallucination?" she asked, "Tess' ghost is cooking us dinner?"

Oliver nodded. He walked into the kitchen. She had felt so real in his arms. There was no warmth; her skin had a coolness to it that was slightly unnerving. There was no feel of a heartbeat. But there was a solidness to her that contrasted to the airiness of her. A sense of home and a sense of the unfamiliar in the way her arms wrapped around his neck. He touched the lid of the metal pot and his fingers burnt with a sudden flare of pain.

Even if Tess had been a hallucination, the pot was real and there was definitely a delicious tomato soup inside. He took the spoon and reached in, hungry.

"Don't! It could be poisoned!" Chloe exclaimed suddenly. Oliver looked at her over his shoulder and laughed a little. Chloe pouted.

"Why would Tess' ghost want to poison us?" he asked. Chloe shook her head, muttering 'I don't know' before turning away. She turned back, her hands clenching into fists.

"Oliver. She's dead! We buried her body. Remember that?" her skin was drenched white. "I know this is Metropolis and we've all seen weirder, but I am drawing the line at Tess Mercer's ghost."

Oliver looked down at his shoes, "Chloe…"

"You shouldn't indulged in the fantasy ok!" She was gone. Doors slammed and echoed in the empty penthouse. He contemplated going after her, but Tess had reappeared and was sitting on the kitchen bench, her legs crossed at the knee, watching him intensely. He wondered how long she had been sitting there, what she had seen.

"She doesn't like me here." Tess said.

"No, she does." He countered immediately, but with a reluctant hitch to his voice. "She's just – just a bit stressed. From work." Tess arched an eyebrow. Even in death she could still see through all of his bullshit. "Where do you go?" he asked, "When you're, you know, not here?"

"I don't really know. Like I said, I've been stuck in limbo."

"Really? What's that like?"

"Um… well there's nice weather and it's really crowded. Like all I wanted was some peace and quiet, but no, everyone's there! I was having a conversation with Da Vinci the other day but…" she had started to smile wickedly now and Oliver faltered.

"Hey! You're pulling my leg!"

She laughed richly. He was amazed at how much life was in her. "Ok yes, I was joking. Limbo is actually really boring. Nothing happens. Sometimes I do catch snatches of conversation but it took a while for me to…" she searched for the word, "hook onto people's voices and find a way to pull myself out. It was easier with Lex. I was kind of stuck following him around for a while, and seriously, when he's not working on a plan to take over the world, he is the most boring man on the planet!" this made Oliver laugh and cry at the same time.

Tess slipped off the bench and rushed to his side as he covered his face with his hand, his shoulder shaking. He pushed her at arm's length but she was suddenly no longer solid, passing though his arm, coming up in front of him and hugging him tightly. "Shh, don't cry. Come on, Oliver. Everything's ok now."

"It's not." He mumbled thickly, "It's not."

Chloe had crept quietly out of the bedroom and stood off to the side, feeling sick and furious as she watched Oliver and the Ghost. Tess had her arms around Oliver's middle, her head against his shoulder as he stood, trying to compose himself with his hands over his face. Chloe couldn't stand it a moment longer.

"Ollie!" she rushed forwards. Tess, seeming to be made of smoke again, materialised by the fridge, just watching as Chloe went to console Oliver. Chloe shot Tess a glare from under Oliver's arm. Tess shook her head. "What's wrong?"

He hugged Chloe. "I'm sorry for fighting with you earlier." He said, wiping his face dry and straightening up.

Chloe stepped back and shrugged, "I'd already forgotten about it." She smiled, squeezed his hand. "Well. No point letting Tess' soup go to waste." She quickly got out two bowls and a ladle and then paused, turning to Tess. "Um. Do you want a bowl?" she asked uncertainly.

"No point, I can't eat." Said the redhead. Chloe's lip twitched in something interpreted as "alrighty then" and she served soup. They sat down at the table. Chloe felt the hair on her neck prickle and she turned to Tess again, this time not keeping as firm a lid on the annoyance as she had before. "What? Are you just going to stare at us through dinner?"

"I'll go."

"Tess –" Oliver tried to make her stay but she had disappeared again. He shot a glare at Chloe and slammed his spoon against the porcelain plate with more force than it deserved. "Great! I need to ask her about how she – died. So that I can work on a way to expose Lex for what he did and you just kick her out like that!"

"I haven't yet ruled out insanity in this case, Ollie!" Chloe exclaimed, "We have been cooked tomato soup by a ghost! I don't want her here! I don't want her watching us, how do we even know she's gone - she could be lurking somewhere. Listening."

But Oliver knew that Tess wasn't hanging around. He could feel it, in some unknown place inside him; he knew she was no longer in the room. He shook his head, finished his plate and dropped it in the sink. Screw the washing up, he thought.

"Ollie!" Chloe snapped before he reached the door. She made a flicking gesture with her small hand at the sink. Oliver was pissed off again, sick of her nagging and whingeing when she had the most perfect life any woman her age could dream of. He crossed back to the sink, picked up the bowl and dropped it on the floor. It shattered, and the sound kept ringing as he walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

XxX

Oliver was back sometime after midnight with apology roses he picked out of an anonymous garden on a quiet street. The penthouse looked indistinct in the blue and grey light, the ornaments on tables and bookshelves throwing odd, lengthy shadows. He didn't want to make a disturbance so he left the lights off, navigating by memory to his bedroom. Chloe was curled up on her side of the bed, fast asleep. Oliver would have normally crawled in and crashed, but something about his pillow on the floor and the extra blanket by the door meant his bed was out on the sofa. He shook his head and put the roses on the mattress beside her, then gathered what he needed and closed the door softly.

In the lounge room he kicked off his trousers, punched his pillow into shape and settled down on the couch. He flicked on the TV, muting the sound and watching images of a black and white movie flicker. Marilyn Monroe sat on the window ledge of a tiny train window and sipped out of a hip flask. He thought about Tess, sitting on the balcony edge in Santorini. The sun was setting. It was the first time she told him she loved him. He closed his eyes.

When he woke it was still dark but the television had been switched off. He foggily searched for Chloe. He saw a figure and rubbed his eyes. Tess was sitting on the arm of the sofa above him.

"Are you a dream?" he whispered. She shook her head and smiled sadly, her fingers brushed lightly over his hair. "Don't leave again, Tess."

"Go back to sleep. It's ok. I'm watching over you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." he told her.

She nodded slowly. "Oh, Oliver."

He slept.

XxX

Oliver and Chloe didn't see Tess again for three days. Oliver missed her presence, worrying anxiously if she had moved on and would never return. Chloe was slightly more relieved that things were returning to normal. Lois had been very sceptical when she had been informed that Tess was haunting Watchtower, and regarded Chloe with a long, searching look as they sat in her formal lounge room, drinking coffee.

"I'm not crazy. Ollie saw her too." Chloe told her cousin defensively.

Lois put her hands up, "I didn't say you were crazy. I just, Chlo I've never believed in ghosts, I've only just graduated to accepting aliens and Green Leather. Give me some time to absorb everything!"

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and sipped her hot coffee in silence. When she didn't show any signs of coming out of her sulk, Lois started to talk again. "I mean, Tess, a ghost? Can I meet her?"

"I don't know." Chloe frowned, putting down her coffee cup, "She kind of comes and goes as she pleases, but… Tess?" she called, getting silence in return. "Tess, come on, Lois is here. Just be nice you bloody cow and show up! Please."

"Please always helps." Tess crossed her arms, appearing in the winged armchair. Lois slopped coffee over herself in surprise. "Hi Lois."

"Tess?" the brunette goggled at her for a minute, she reached out a hand and slowly put her fingers on Tess' wrist, sliding her palm up too once she was certain Tess was solid. "Wow. I don't know what to say."

"There's a first!" Tess smiled, "It's fine, how are you? I'm sorry I missed the wedding."

Lois blinked then waved her hand dismissively, "that was a bit of a disaster really, and we still didn't quite make it." Tess frowned in confusion, her hand reaching out to pick up Lois' left hand and examine her engagement ring. "We've decided to postpone it until things calm down."

Tess nodded, "I see."

"So yes," Chloe broke the descending silence, "I'm not mad, Tess really is a ghost."

"Are you… ok about it?" Lois asked gently. Tess laughed, her hair whipping up around her face as if she was caught in a sudden breeze. It was eerie and the sound of her laughter sent chills down both women's spines. "Have you been out haunting graveyards and buildings?"

"Yeah I'm planning to find some creepy house and rattle around going 'oooohhh!' to scare people." Tess smiled, "I can also do children's parties and Halloween." She added.

"I see death has improved your sense of humour." Chloe said sullenly.

Tess face tightened with a sudden sadness that made her seem even more hauntingly, horribly beautiful than ever. "There's not much else I can do in this situation, Chloe. I can't eat, sleep… I'm stuck watching life go on around me and I'm still in the clothes I died in!"

There was a long silence, broken only when Lois went up and hugged Tess. "I'll murder some Chanel for you if you want to wear something different." Suddenly the three women were laughing, bittersweet tears in Lois' eyes.

"You can research." Chloe suddenly said, her throat thick. "I can leave my laptop for you and you can get that research you wanted done. I'm going to go to Watchtower." She stood up. Lois released Tess and followed Chloe a few steps before looking back at the redhead.

"Is there anything I can do, Tess?" she asked.

Tess shook her head and smiled slightly, watching the two women leave. She stayed in the empty penthouse, drifting from room to room. She was not the only ghost there, she felt, as she examined Oliver's possessions and tried to intuit who had the final say on the décor. Eventually it hurt too much to float around someone else's life. It was the same pain she had experienced watching Lex order her own belongings to be packed up into boxes. Everything in the mansion that was hers was gone. Her own penthouse was still untouched, gathering dust.

She went back to the bookshelf in the living room and pulled down some books, arranging herself on the plush carpet. Tess kept reading until the sky darkened through the windows and a cold she was immune to descended. When the door opened hours later, Tess jumped. Expecting Chloe, she was surprised that it was Oliver who was home.

"Hey. You're back." He smiled at her. Tess folded her book shut and returned the greeting as she stood up.

"How did your research go?" asked Oliver.

Tess sighed, "Oh, I haven't really started. Lois was here today and Chloe left with her. Said something about Watchtower."

"I spoke to her earlier; she's having dinner with Lois and Clark." He answered, taking off his suit jacket. "So, what are you going to do? Aside from making cups of tea that you can't actually drink?" he pointed out the seven mugs on the kitchen table.

"I don't know. Maybe it's stupid to try and bring myself back. After all, it's not like I can go back into my body." She wrinkled her nose. "I just… I guess I want to know why I'm still hanging around. But I don't know how to resolve my death. I know what happened and why. I managed to wipe Lex's memory, albeit temporarily. I was too stupid to see the knife. But then it all gets a little foggy." She shook her head, rematerializing in the kitchen holding the kettle, "Do you want some tea or coffee?"

"Er, coffee. Thanks."

Her green eyes slowly met Oliver's deep brown eyes.

"Do you really want to move on?" he asked, walking towards her. "Is that really what you want?"

"I don't know what I want anymore." She shook her head, Oliver was so close to her, but the waves of his breath did not make her hair move. He put his hand on her arm.

"Can you feel that?" he asked.

"Sort of. I can remember how it felt. That helps."

Oliver's hand slipped up to her jaw, running his thumb against her lips. "Oliver." She whispered. He kissed her, holding her up to him as he plundered her mouth. Her lips were cool now but they felt just as they always had, the million kisses he never forgot, moving against his.

"Can you feel that?" his eyes searched hers. She nodded; her hands went to his neck, pulling him down to kiss her again and again. It was too much, and tears began to gather in her eyes. "What is it?" Oliver asked when she pulled away. Tess looked down bitterly, wiping away the tears.

"I don't want to be dead, Oliver! I don't want to be stuck like this anymore." He reached for her but she was smoke, rematerializing across the room. "Lex has taken everything away from me, and you and I are still drifting somewhere in the middle of the ocean. I'm a million miles from you."

"Mercy, please…" Oliver vaulted the sofa and caught her wrists. "I know it's not fair. I'm sorry that this happened." He stopped suddenly. There was so much he wanted to say. Tess watched him, waiting, until the silence stretched and snapped and she turned her face away.

"We always had such bad timing." She whispered and faded away.

"Tess!" he shouted for her to come back, but received nothing but his echo in the empty penthouse in return. Oliver waited for her to return, but after an hour there was nothing. He gave a shout of frustration and tried calling Chloe. She wasn't answering her phone and Oliver needed to get out of the penthouse. He grabbed his car keys and drove to the Kent Farm. Lois opened the door.

"Hey Ollie." She said without a smile. Oliver looked past her to Chloe, who was sitting on the couch with Clark. His eyes narrowed as he walked inside. Lois put her hand on his arm, "Just don't be a prat, Ollie." She whispered, "You should keep a better grip on what's real and what's not in your life."

Oliver looked down at the brunette in surprise, not expecting her to lecture him. He was still trying to determine exactly what she meant when she looked at Clark, "Come on handsome, let's take a turn around the garden."

"She's reading Jane Austen again." Clark informed him as he stood up, grinning at Lois and offering his arm, "Milady!" They slipped out the backdoor, leaving the two blonds at a stalemate in the living room.

"So do you not have a cell phone anymore?" Oliver asked, crossing his arms. "I've been calling."

Chloe shifted sideways in her seat. "Sorry, I… I just need an evening to myself. You haven't really noticed, you never notice, but I've been really upset these last few days, Ollie."

Oliver spluttered in surprise, "When? Every time I ask you, you say you're fine! Why would you say you're fine if you're upset?" he spread his hands, "I've been thinking, great, you're happy all week!"

"Ugh." Chloe deflated a little.

"Maybe you could say 'I'm not happy', and then I could do something to fix it!" Oliver finished with a smile. He waited for Chloe to smile as well, to laugh and hug him and then everything would be fine again. She didn't move, her hazel eyes pinned to the opposite wall's skirting boards while she worried her thumb nail with her teeth.

"I need a break." Chloe said plainly. "Ok, between Lois and You, and Casper the Friendly Ghost, I need some space! I feel like Tess is everywhere now! I can't go anywhere."

"Can you just give her some space?" Oliver asked, trying to make Chloe understand. It had clearly snapped something inside Chloe. She went pale then very pink rapidly.

"Give. Her. Space. ?." She repeated. "Oh, so I have to clear out of my own house, to give the ghost some space so she can research her own death!" she opened and closed her hands, "Am I living in a Monty Python episode? What the hell is going on!" she turned on her heel and crossed the room to the front door. "I can't take this anymore! I can't live with ghosts!"

Oliver followed her outside, the lights from her car flickering as she unlocked it.

"I can't either. All I can think is what if I had done something, maybe she would still be here. Alive. I wanted you back so much, Chloe. I pushed Tess away, I gave up on her. I said cruel things that I never apologised for. She didn't show up at the wedding and we didn't care, Chloe. You told me to not bother calling her and I didn't even notice she was missing until it was too late." He ended bitterly, turning away. "She was dying! She was alone and scared and I didn't save her."

"I – didn't know. That this was how you felt." She looked discouraged and Oliver couldn't meet her eye. Breathing heavily, he glared at the ground, trying to explain how he felt.

"I hate Lex. I want justice. But right now, I just hate myself more." He said. Chloe stepped up behind him, hugging him from behind. "All she wanted was to be a part of this team."

"I'm sorry." She said, kissing his shoulder through his t-shirt. Oliver looked down and did not reply. Chloe sighed and pushed herself away from him. "Oliver, we should take a break. I have some leads in Star City." She shrugged, "I'll get some proper work done for the Tribune and … you can call me on my cell."

He nodded. "I don't want you to go, but… text me? So I know you got to Star City safely."

Chloe nodded and closed the car door; she flashed her hand up in an open palmed wave before driving off. Oliver watched her go heavily. He could hear Lois calling to him from the porch but he ignored her, getting back into his car and driving in the opposite direction, back to his penthouse.

Upstairs he found Tess out on the balcony. She had finally reappeared and he was grateful for the sight of her again. He didn't want to be alone in the penthouse. "Mercy." He whispered. She turned and at the sight of his stricken face, rushed to hug him. She didn't ask him questions, or say anything. She just held him until he felt calm again. The temperature continued to drop, but the wind made no impression on her scarlet hair as she hugged herself to his side.

"Do you ever see her?" Oliver finally asked, breaking the silence. Tess looked up with interest, wondering who he was talking about. "Megan." He clarified.

Tess paled and shook her head. Idly tucking her hair behind her ear she sighed. "I had hoped I would. But so far no. She's not here." Tess looked up at the stars, "But then again it isn't too surprising. She was amazing, Megan was. She would have moved on, not stayed. She wasn't a coward like me."

Oliver covered her hand with his. "Hey, don't say that, Mercy. You are the bravest, craziest woman I know." He kissed her cheek, "For a long time I could have only hoped to have half of your courage. If you're still here then it's for a bigger reason than being afraid."

"Really?" she looked at him slantwise, then smiled, "Well I guess it does take some bravery to step out in green leather."

"Hey!" he poked her in the ribs and they both laughed. Oliver slung his arm over her shoulders, and Tess nestled into the crook made between his arm and body. She sighed, breathing him in. "I'm sorry Megan wasn't there for you."

"I let her go a long time ago. Just like you have to let me go."

"But not right now." Oliver replied. "Not today. Maybe not ever. I'm sorry that you died, Tess." He said. Tess put her hand on his arm, shaking her head that it was no use in being sorry now. He covered her hand with his, laced their fingers and didn't let go. "I'm sorry that you had to die for me to finally work out that I still love you, that I'm sorry for everything I put you through. I never forgot a single moment of you, Tess, and I never will."

Tess inched closer, her free hand on the back of his head as his free hand ran up her arm to her neck. "I'm sorry too." She said before she kissed him. It was desperate, sparks flew in the meeting of their lips. Oliver entwined his hands in her hair, pulling her down to lie cradled in his arms on the floor of the balcony. He kissed hungrily; she kissed him back with fervour as if she was trying to fit into him, to crawl inside his chest and stay there forever.

"I love you." he told her between kisses, saying it over and over as his tears wet her face. Her body seemed to warm under his touch and kisses, as his hands caressed her ribs through her clothes. She pulled away for a moment, standing up. Oliver looked up at her as she extended her hand to him; he grasped it firmly and stood as well. Her eyes were questioning and he kissed her deeply. His tongue swept over her lips as he lifted her into his arms and carried her inside. He kissed her again, walking backwards until her body hit the first solid wall and her legs wrapped tightly around his hips. Hands clawed up his back, raising his shirt. Her cool fingers were on his spine, his chest. His skin burnt wherever she caressed him.

"Mercy." He wondered about her clothes, but they seemed to melt at his touch, gone were her bloodstained coat, her stiletto heels. He clutched her to him as if terrified that she too would fade away. "Don't leave me." He said, as they stumbled into his bedroom and hit the bed. She crawled over him, her lips in a smile, her face wreathed in her halo of crimson hair.

"I'm right here." She promised, "I love you, Oliver. I will always love you."

Time could never take the memory of her body from him. A million kisses could never be enough to satisfy the hunger that afflicted them. When they came it was too much and yet not enough, they burnt and broke, she cried – "_Oliver!_" – and somewhere in the chiaroscuro of light and dark, fire and ice, life and death, all they had been and all they were now, Oliver and Tess died in each other's arms.

Fin


End file.
